The Government Data Mining Initiative Behind Common Core

As I’ve mentioned before on this site, information data mining of millions of young Americans was a foundation of the Common Core initiative. From the post “Does Common Core Violate Children’s Privacy Through Data Collection”; “The test will be used as a vehicle to data mine for ‘sensitive and personal’ information that will then become part of the “permanent record” for children who sit for the Common Core exams.” The Common Core is not only in place to “better prepare” our students for the demands of the 21st century, but to compile massive amounts of data on our children including academic, behavioral, employment records, etc.

Imagine a government supercomputer that keeps a file of your child’s personal information.

Imagine the government data mining not just your child’s name, address, and school, but details of his entire formal education, including his college major and what specific classes he takes.

Imagine the government continuing this invasive practice into your child’s career, recording what jobs he holds, how much money he makes, whether he loses a job or draws unemployment, whether he serves in the military, returns to school, or even goes to jail.

Does that strike you as Orwellian? Of course it does. But some “experts” in government and advocacy organizations disagree with you, and these people are now working behind the scenes to bring us one step closer to this dystopia—for our own good, of course.

This is something called the “student unit-record system.” Central planners view the education system primarily as a means to build a workforce for the managed economy, and they can do this more effectively if they know everything there is to know about future workers—i.e., our children.

The idea would be to analyze practically every lifetime activity of every student and determine how his various educational experiences affected his outcomes. As U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has mused, “We want to know whether Johnny participated in an early learning program and completed college on time and whether those things have any bearing on his earnings as an adult.”

So wouldn’t it be grand to have a central federal warehouse holding every bit of Johnny’s data?

Millions of parents will likely agree that the less Arne Duncan knows about your son or daughter the better. No matter how much they brag about safeguards, once that information is compiled, the possibility exists that it could very well end up in the wrong hands.

Yes, let’s hold every conceivable piece of data about American citizens in one easily accessible, easily hackable warehouse. What could go wrong?

Parents concerned about the Common Core national standards scheme already know that the federal government has incentivized the states, through Common Core and related structures, to build massive statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDS) for K-12 students. The data contained in these systems may contain even the most personal information, such as psychological and health-related data. Now the proponents of a federal student unit-record system are urging that the data in these data systems be used to populate the federal system.

Johnny could be tracked by the central planners throughout his lifetime. And there is no telling who else might be able to access that data.

We are openly courting disaster by allowing Duncan and those of his ilk access to our children’s information. Too many people trusted the federal government to come up with a set of academic standards, look how that turned out. Are you really going to trust them with your children’s data?

-Gabriel Diaz

For an excellent summary of what is truly wrong with the Common Core, you can check out my good friend Brook Putnam’s e-book “Rotten Core: How the Common Core is Ruining Our Children’s Futures and What We Can Do About it.” I can’t recommend it enough! Brook is a school teacher with a vicious sense of humor, and these 22 pages are a ridiculously entertaining and informative read. We are offering it for a limited time on this site exclusively for only 99 cents! Take advantage of this outstanding deal, right here!